'Ready to roll': After season of struggles, David Bednar aims at reclaiming Pirates' closer role

BRADENTON, Fla. — Being booed off the field in his hometown was humbling for David Bednar, as Pittsburgh Pirates fans voiced their displeasure with his blown leads in late-game situations.

The two-time All-Star believes that how he dealt with the criticism would define him more so than the struggles last season. Bothered by injuries, Bednar’s ERA ballooned to 5.77, he had seven blown saves and lost his closer role by September.

“It was definitely a challenge, but I think it speaks to the passion of these fans,” said Bednar, a Mars alum. “I know. I’m one of them. I know what they’re thinking.”

Would Bednar have booed his performance?

“I don’t know about that. Probably, actually,” Bednar said, with a laugh. “It comes down to: It sucks, but if you don’t like it, play better. I don’t think anybody’s more upset about that than myself. Nobody’s harder on me than myself, so I didn’t hear anything that I wasn’t thinking already. It’s part of the passion of this city and its fans and the pride they have. It definitely wasn’t up to my standard of play, and I definitely look forward to getting back to that and having a good year this year.”

By all accounts, Bednar is back to his old self this spring training. He made adjustments to details in his delivery to clean up the direction after he found he was yanking and not getting his true action, which caused problems with not only his fastball but curveball and splitter. Now, he’s focused on repeating the action and staying in the strike zone.

“He’s looked really good. I mean, there’s definite confidence in him,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said. “I think he needed the offseason to reset, but I think one of the things we have to go back to is this guy’s a two-time All-Star and was one of the most dominant closers in the game. Our full expectation is he’s going to bounce back. And, really, just the overall attitude and the way the ball’s coming out for him.”

Bednar was coming off a 39-save season in which he led the majors with a 92.9% save percentage when his spring training was interrupted by a right lat strain that limited him to 30 pitches over two innings in two Grapefruit League appearances. He returned in time for the start of the season but blew a 3-2 lead in the ninth inning against Baltimore on April 6, then allowed three runs on four hits and a walk in a 5-3 loss to Detroit the next day. Pirates fans booed as Bednar walked off the field at PNC Park, prompting first baseman Rowdy Tellez to chastise them for doing so.

“That’s one thing: My teammates have always had my back, and so has the organization,” Bednar said. “It’s one thing for me to have confidence in myself, but for them to always have my back, as well, the support of my teammates and family last year was huge and a big reason why I’m confident going back into this year.”

Bednar then converted 19 consecutive save opportunities between April 12-Aug. 3, though it was around a stint on the 15-day injured list with a strained left oblique. Even so, Bednar didn’t dominate. His strikeouts per nine innings dropped from 12.0 in 2022 to 10.7 in 2023 to 9.1.

He went so far as to say he was a shell of himself. And then his season went to shambles.

After back-to-back blown saves against the San Diego Padres on Aug. 7-8, Bednar lost at the Los Angeles Dodgers on Aug. 11 amid a 10-game losing streak that saw the Pirates drop from 2 ½ games out of wild-card contention and into last place in the NL Central.

Bednar blew a 1-0 lead at the Texas Rangers on Aug. 21, and a two-run lead by giving up five runs on three hits and two walks in two-thirds of an inning in a 14-10 loss at the Chicago Cubs on Aug. 28. The Pirates soon turned to seven-time All-Star Aroldis Chapman to close out games.

“I think any time you struggle a little bit, you’re going to have your confidence shaken,” Shelton said. “And I think the one thing with David is he grew up in Pittsburgh, plays for his hometown team. I think he took it personally that he didn’t perform to the standard that he felt was important. Sometimes, that’s good to take to heart. I think he did take that to heart, and I think he’s kind of revitalized because of it.”

Bednar also took to heart some simple advice from Chapman, who reminded him not to get too high in the highs or too low in the lows. Pirates teammates admired how Bednar, a two-time Roberto Clemente Award nominee for his charity work, didn’t allow his performance to affect his mood in the clubhouse or off the field.

“He’s one of the best teammates I’ve ever had,” Pirates catcher Henry Davis said. “Nobody wants it more than him. No matter what external feedback you could try to possibly give as a player or a coach, nobody cares more about Dave’s performance than Dave. …

“There’s a lot of transparency that comes with failure and struggles or anything you’d want to call adversity, but how he worked, how he went about his business every day, not only how he treated other people but how dedicated he was to performing and how the mindset never changed, but the relentless pursuit of getting better.”

That pursuit had Bednar breaking down video of his delivery, searching for what was off and how to get it back. He found pieces of it in September, though none came in save situations. Finally, it returned when Bednar was playing catch in November with his brother, Will, a 2021 first-round pick pitching in Double-A for the San Francisco Giants.

“Once you get that feeling,” Bednar said, “you want to build on that.”

Bednar has flashed four-seam fastball, as well as the curveball and splitter. The Pirates also see the return of his confidence, carrying himself with the swagger of someone who earned the nickname The Renegade and walks out to the Pittsburgh Steelers anthem by Styx.

“Absolutely. I’m incredibly confident right now,” Bednar said. “It’s a lot of learning from the struggles last year. When you’re reflecting on it, it’s trying to learn from some of the struggles in those spots. Ultimately, as much as it sucked — and it wasn’t great — it’s going to be better for me in the long run. It’s just part of the game. Everybody goes through those struggles. It’s a hard game, but I’m confident in myself. I’m back and ready to roll.”